UK Against Fluoridation

Monday, November 30, 2015

MPs back call for sugar tax: They demand 20% levy for fizzy drinks, blitz on junk food deals AND crackdown on Coco Pops monkey
They called for a ban on ‘guilt lanes’ in supermarkets and high street stores
MPs said labels should state how many teaspoons of sugar were in items
Figures last week showed that a third of children are overweight or obese
TV chef Jamie Oliver called for a sugar tax and clearer labelling last month
By SOPHIE BORLAND, HEALTH CORRESPONDENT FOR THE DAILY MAIL IN CHIAGO
A sugar tax must be slapped on fizzy drinks and supermarkets should be banned from selling discounted junk food to tackle the child obesity crisis, MPs say today.
In a major report, the Health Select Committee said ministers should also introduce a ban on TV adverts for unhealthy brands being screened before 9pm, especially during family shows.
It said the Government must not take the easy option of relying on health education campaigns and promoting exercise.
Instead, the MPs called for graphic warnings on fizzy drinks saying how many spoonfuls of sugar a single serving contains.
They want a 20 per cent sugar tax on soft drinks, which a coalition of 19 medical bodies and charities is also calling for in a separate report today.
The reports will put pressure on ministers to act following alarming figures about the rise of childhood obesity. The Health Select Committee calls for:
A 20 per cent sugar tax on fizzy and soft drinks;
A ban on ‘guilt lanes’ in supermarkets and high street stores which tempt customers with treats just before the tills;
Tough controls on ‘buy one get one free’ style deals on junk food and fizzy drinks;
A 9pm watershed for TV adverts for unhealthy brands especially during The X Factor on ITV and football matches;
A crackdown on cartoon characters such as the Kellogg’s Coco Pops monkey and the Dairylea cow being used to target children;
Compulsory labels stating how many teaspoons of sugar there are in everyday items; and
An end to supersize portions and free drinks refills at restaurants, fast food chains and cinemas.

Nelson residents attend a community meeting on water fluoridation at Stoke Memorial Hall on Saturday.

More than 100 people gathered at a community meeting in Stoke held by those opposed to plans to fluoridate Nelson's water supply for the first time.

Meeting organiser Sara Cooper said the event was a chance for the community to come together, hear from guest speaker dentist Dr Stan Litras and ask questions about fluoridation.

"As much as [fluoride] may be good for strengthening teeth, there are many other things it is not good for as well," Cooper said. It came down to basic human rights and freedom of choice and the meeting was a chance to make a stand for the community when it came to medication, she said.

"It is up to a doctor to tell us whether we need to have fluoride and it is up to us to decide if we want it."

In August, the NMDHB confirmed it's position on water fluoridation by adopting a formal statement endorsing it as an important public health measure to maintain good oral health, the prevention of tooth decay and the reduction of health inequalities.Cooper said people needed to ask questions of the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board about the effects of fluoridation to be satisfied that it was 100 per cent safe for consumption.

Wellington dentist Dr Stan Litras who founded the Fluoride Information Network for Dentists was a guest speaker at the meeting. "It is ineffective at reducing tooth decay, it's a risk to health, it's not cheap and there are much better ways to fight tooth decay," Litras said to the crowd. "Nelson Marlborough, despite never having fluoridated water has among the lowest childhood caries rates in the country."

Beaglehole said the NMDHB's position will be guided by the science which showed that fluoridation was safe. "Sir Peter Gluckman, chief science advisor to the Prime Minister, stated in his recent report that it is absolutely clear that at the low doses proposed, there is no risk from fluoride in the water," he said. Beaglehole said many scientific studies and over five decades of experience in a number of countries around the world have shown that community water fluoridation was safe and effective. It was also seen by many in public health as a key way to reduce social inequality.

"What we know from comparison with other communities in New Zealand, is that if Nelson introduced community water fluoridation we would see a reduction in pain and suffering caused by tooth decay," Beaglehole said. "We'd see an approximate 40 per cent drop in new tooth decay amongst kids and 30 per cent in adults with most of the benefits occurring in our lower socio-economic communities."

NMDHB chief executive Chris Fleming said while the DHB welcomed discussion on the topic, a decision was made not to formally attend the meeting and a community discussion would be held on the topic in due course.

Board chair Jenny Black supported the decision: "We will be considering a formal position on community water fluoridation and any proposed plans in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough early in the new year."

Sunday, November 29, 2015

BRITAIN’S love of tea could help save the nation’s youngsters from a less pleasant tradition: bad teeth.

Researchers have found that children as young as four would benefit from drinking regular cups of tea.

Carrie Ruxton, a public health nutritionist, and her colleagueTim Bond analysed 49 types of teabag bought in British shops and supermarkets to discover their levels of fluoride. The mineral strengthens the enamel coating of teeth, protecting them from bacteria that cause dental caries.......

Friday, November 27, 2015

By KATE PICKLES FOR MAILONLINE
Why budget tea bags are BETTER for your teeth: Tests reveal cheaper brands contain the most tooth-strengthening fluoride
Tests were carried out on 49 tea bags ranging from own brands to decaf
Fluoride levels varied with the lowest levels in specialty teas at 0.72mg
This compares to 2.3mg in a Tesco original tea bag and decaf was higher

Drinking tea and bad teeth have long been unflattering stereotypes associated with the English.
But a new study has revealed how a traditional brew can in fact help to strengthen our gnashers - with budget brands coming out on top.
Tests on 49 tea bags found drinking about four cups a day gave people the daily recommended intake of fluoride - known to strengthen tooth enamel and prevent decay.
Cheaper blends and decaffeinated versions were found to contain the most fluoride, which comes from the soil where the tea is grown.

BACKGROUND: The objective of the present study was to determine the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis and to evaluate exposure to fluoridated products in students in the southwest part of the Federal District (Mexico City).MATERIAL AND METHODS: Students between 10 and 12 years of age who were born and raised in the study zone were evaluated. The level of dental fluorosis was determined using the modified Dean index (DI) using criteria recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). A bivariate analysis was performed with the χ2 test, and odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) are presented. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between dental fluorosis and the independent variables.RESULTS: A total of 239 students were evaluated. Their mean age was 11±0.82 years, and there were 122 (51%) males. Overall, dental fluorosis was found in 59% of participants; 29.3% had very mild fluorosis, 20.9% had mild fluorosis, 6.7% had moderate fluorosis, and 2.1% had severe fluorosis. The mean fluorosis score was 0.887±0.956. In the final logistic regression model, dental fluorosis was significantly associated with frequency of brushing (OR: 0.444; 95% CI: 0.297–0.666) and with the absence of parental supervision (OR: 0.636; 95% CI: 0.525–0.771).CONCLUSIONS: The association found with frequency of brushing and lack of parental supervision may be contributing to the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis.

Maurice Saatchi had to watch his wife die of cancer, while his doctor told him there were superb scientific discoveries the law did not allow him to use. It only allows the poison of chemotherapy, which would shorten her life.

So Maurice Saatchi, former Conservative Party Chairman and partner in the Saachi and Saatchi advertising empire, brought in the “Medical Innovation Bill” to put the law back to where it used to be, allowing doctors to prescribe what they considered to be in the best interests of the patient.

But Lord Saatchi underestimated the ruthless power of the chemotherapy industry lobby. It was Cameron’s Conservative government itself that blocked his Bill on 18th October 2013, in the person person of the Minster of Health himself, Jeremy Hunt. Its clear the chemotherapy industry controls even government ministers.

Britains cancer laws have been changed by the billion dollar chemo lobby with its men sitting on the boards of British medical legal bodies. It has altered UK laws so that only their product, the poison of chemotherapy, is allowed to be prescribed by doctors for cancer.

It brainwashes doctors and the medical establishment with lectures, brochures, visits by salesmen and conferences, to ensure chemotherapy, which typically costs a massive £40,000 a year per patient, is the only treatment considered. And yet its much worse than useless.

In fact the entire public is brainwashed to believe there is no cure for cancer, when there are dozens.It seems clear the chemo industry also controls the charities Cancer Research UK and Macmillan, who appear to completely toe their line.That means the British people are denied all the brilliant scientific discoveries in cancer of the last 40 years, including GcMAF, which eradicates even stage 4 cancer without side effects.

Its the chemotherapy industry, and their stranglehold over the UK medical establishment, that Lord Maurice Saatchi is fighting. And he won’t win without exposing them first, and making the scores of thousands of killings they commit for profit in the UK obvious to the public.

As an advertising man and member of the House of Lords, if anyone can do it, Lord Saatchi can.........................

Chemo kills one million a year

According to the site, chemotherapy has its origins in the World War I-era chemical weapon mustard gas. Its side effects — which can be permanent — can include loss of sight, loss of the ability to walk, and even cognitive damage known as “chemo brain.”

Chemo Kills points out that when people die of chemotherapy-related side effects, those deaths are reported as cancer deaths, not as prescription drug deaths. Yet chemotherapy and other prescription drugs are known to injure at least 10 million people a year, the site says.

Given that prescription drugs are the fourth leading cause of death in the United States and injure 2 million people a year in this country alone (these numbers do not include chemotherapy), Chemo Kills estimates that 1 million people are killed by chemotherapyeach year, more than 10 percent of the 8.7 million “cancer” deaths annually. The site claims that in wealthy countries, fully half of all “cancer” deaths are actually caused by chemotherapy.

It’s not just the side effects of chemo that cause all this devastation, the site says. It’s that chemotherapy does not work at killing cancer, and can often actually make the cancer worse. That’s why chemotherapy deaths are so easily attributed to cancer.

Chemo Kills cites a Scientific American study by John Cairns of Harvard University, which found that chemotherapy helps only about 5 percent of patients. It also cites a 2004 study in theJournal of Clinical Oncology, which found that chemotherapy helped only 2.3 percent of patients.

Therefore “chemo was destructive in 97.7% of cases,” the site concludes.

Why is chemotherapy so harmful? According to Chemo Kills, it’s because chemotherapy devastates patients’ immune systems, making them highly susceptible to opportunistic infections (much like an AIDS patient). Many chemotherapy drugs are also listed as “known carcinogens.”

Chemo Kills also quotes Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, who in “The Emperor of All Maladies” writes, “When chemotherapy (is given) to kill the bulk of your cancer cells, a small remnant of these stem cells regenerate and renew the cancer, too.”

This is particularly ominous when combined with the ability of tumors to develop “chemotherapy resistance.”

“Yes, chemo may shrink a tumour, but it makes the cancer come back stronger,” the site reads. “In particular it usually creates the secondaries that kill you 2 years later.”

Suppressing alternative therapies

Chemo Kills also has a page devoted to listing alternative cancer treatments that it claims are side effect free, and more effective than chemotherapy to boot.

But these safe and effective treatments have been suppressed, the site alleges, by laws written to favor the chemotherapy industry, which rakes in $200 billion per year. And it’s no wonder. According to the site, the average cost of a single round of chemotherapy is $60,000.

The site particularly takes aim at the United Kingdom’s 1939 Cancer Act, which to this day prohibits the promotion of any “advertisement” (which includes any written material or speech), that contains “an offer to treat any person for cancer, or to prescribe any remedy therefor, or to give any advice in connection with the treatment thereof.”

VELLORE: The Department of Endocrinology, Christian Medical College, will be hosting, for the first time, the 11th National Conference of the Indian Society of Bone and Mineral Research on November 27 and 28 to create awareness on the treatment of bone-related diseases.

Around 15 percent of the Indian population, especially women, is prone to bone fracture before the age of 65 years due to osteoporosis. About 45 national and international experts in the field of metabolic bone disorders and 300 delegates will be participating in the event and is open to general physicians, endocrinologists, nutritionists, rheumatologists, orthopaedicians and paediatricians. In another first, the meet has been thrown open to non-endocrine and general physicians.

According to the organising team comprising Dr Thomas Paul and Dr Nihal Thomas, the medical aspects of bone disease are a neglected area. Osteoporosis is a condition which is common and affects nearly 40 percent of women above the age of 60 years. It is, in many cases, preventable through early diagnosis and treatment.

“It is a major misconception that when bones ache or if there are fractures, that the solution to the problem is surgery,” Paul and Thomas said. Bone mineral deficiency can be treated easily. Mineral-rich foods such as milk, fish and ragi can also help supplement the treatment.

There are more than 15 causes for thick, brittle bones which require specific expertise and algorithms for diagnosis and treatment. Some of the causes are present from birth and some are acquired – such as fluorosis, which is due to an increase in the fluoride content of water that is likely to worsen with the declining water table............................

But experts say crushing the fruit releases sugars that damage the teeth more than eating fruit whole.

Drinks with a high sugar content can cause tooth decay. If untreated, it can cause sensitivity, enamel fracture and pain.

Each time you drink anything sugary, your teeth are attacked by acid that reacts with bacteria, wearing away the enamel.

Lauren Long, dental hygienist at Cherrybank Dental Spa in Edinburgh, said: “Parents perceive fruit pouches as being healthy but they are a big source of childhood tooth decay as the way they are consumed means the teeth are in contact with sugar for a long time.

“I recently saw a two-year-old who had a lot of fruit pouches as a baby. They are marketed as being healthy and organic with no additives but the child had decay in her top four front teeth due to this.

“The message we try to get across to parents is that even natural sugar is still sugar and should ideally be eaten at mealtimes to minimise the effect on the teeth.

“Milk, cheese and water are good snacks for between meals as they are low acidity and will not cause any harm to the teeth.

“Brushing your child’s teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste and six-monthly trips to the dentist is what we recommend for healthy teeth and gums.”

Here, we look at drinks and snacks considered by dentists to have high erosion potential....................................

DUBOIS – Representatives from the Coalition for Drug Free Water confronted DuBois City Council again seeking an end for water fluoridation. Gary Guerndt and Terry Cook had approached council three years ago over the same topic.

Water fluoridation is the process of adding fluoride to the water in order to help prevent cavities. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fluoridation reduces tooth decay by 25 percent and began in the 1945.

Currently, three out of every four U.S. water systems fluoridate their water. DuBois began its fluoridation program after a referendum vote in 1964.

Guerndt and Cook stated that fluoride does not help teeth, and is actually dangerous to one’s health. They cited an article from the July 2000 issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association, “Fluoride incorporated during tooth development is insufficient to play a significant role in caries protection.”

Both Guerndt and Cook stated that fluoride’s benefits are that of a topical, and fluoridated water does not remain in the mouth long enough to provide a benefit. Its other side effects include that:

“People want to make a change, and you can’t make a change if you are poisoning yourself daily,” stated Guerndt.

Guerndt and Cook asked for the opportunity to have another vote on whether DuBois City should fluoridate its water system. Guerndt stated that the youngest person who had a say in the last vote would today be 64.

The city’s initial response was the same as in 2012 – it can’t end fluoridation on their own. It was started with a referendum and would need one to end it.

Last week, Michael Connett, Executive Director of Fluoride Alert.org (FAN), appeared on Pennsylvania Public Radio (WPSU) to debate three fluoridation proponents, including a local dentist, the Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Epidemiology, and a doctor with the State Department of Health.

The 28-minute discussion took place on the Take Note Show hosted by Patty Satalia, who asks excellent questions throughout the program and gave Michael enough time to present his arguments along with the latest research. Best of all, the combination of Michael’s points and Satalia’s questions clearly showed how little science the so-called experts are familiar with, and how heavily they rely on predictable talking points and endorsements by government agencies and other fluoridation-pushers.

Public Radio International aired a very good 8-minute piece on fluoridation last week on the Living on Earth show. Host Steve Curwood interviewed University of Kent professor and researcher Stephen Peckham, BSc, MA, HMFPH, Harvard professor and researcher Philippe Grandjean, MD, DMSc, and environmental advocate Laura Turner Seydel.

Dr. Peckham discusses the paper he recently published in the journal Environmental Health showing an association between fluoridated water in the U.K. and underactive thyroid, or hypothyroidism. Dr. Grandjean discusses his research on the impact of fluoride exposure on IQ. Both scientists raise major concerns over the health risks associated with water fluoridation.

Two-thirds of Americans have tap water with added fluoride, thought to help prevent tooth decay, but research has raised questions about the additive’s safety. Host Steve Curwood examines the science around fluoride’s health effects and hears from eco-activist Laura Turner Seydel about potential, under-reported risks and measures the public can take for protection.

Published on 24 Nov 2015
Professor Paul Connett discusses the history of fluoride use in this country and around the world. Find out how it became known as a benefit to dental health and what we really know about it's benefits today. Also find out how other cultures are affected by fluoride

By DrBicuspid StaffStephen Peckham, professor of health policy, University of Kent in the U.K.

November 25, 2015 -- The Public Radio International (PRI) program "Living on Earth" broadcast a report on community water fluoridation on November 20. According to the broadcast, "research has raised questions about the additive's safety."

The broadcast featured Stephen Peckham, a professor of health policy from the University of Kent in the U.K.; Philippe Grandjean, MD, an adjunct professor of environmental health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and environmental activist Laura Turner Seydel. The broadcast did not include any proponents of community water fluoridation on the broadcast.

During the broadcast, Peckham said his paper on the association between fluoridated water and hypothyroidism, published earlier this year, looked at levels of hypothyroidism in general practice populations across England and found an association or a risk of higher levels of hypothyroidism in practices in fluoridated areas.

"It's surprising that there hasn't been a lot of really good-quality research looking at the effects of water fluoridation," Peckham said. "If you were to put water fluoridation up now as an intervention which was to be started, I suspect that on both scientific and ethical grounds, it would not be introduced."

Grandjean's 2014 interview about his research that found a correlation between fluoride exposure and lower IQ was cited.

"We looked at more than 20 studies from China where they had compared children exposed to high fluoride content in the water and low," Grandjean said. "And on the average, the difference in performance among those kids was seven IQ points."

"That's a sizable difference," noted Grandjean, while acknowledging that a percentage of the children in the population "have been exposed to substantial fluoride concentrations in water."

Follow-up on his study is necessary, he added, to "determine if there is any risk in regard to fluoride exposure under U.S. conditions."

Laura Turner Seydel, the other interview subject, is co-founder of the Atlanta-basedMothers and Others for Clean Air. According to PRI, Seydel is urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop "endorsing" water fluoridation, such as this statement from June 2015.

"It's something that I became concerned about seven or eight years ago," she said. "I have a problem with my thyroid, and the doctor that I went to suggested that it could have come from overfluoridation, that I'd just had too much, and that it compromised the function of my thyroid."

The dental and healthcare communities reacted strongly to this broadcast.DrBicuspid.com will run their responses, starting with this Second Opinion columnby Deborah Foote, the executive director of Oral Health Colorado.

You can listen to the PRI broadcast and read a complete transcript of it on the "Living on Earth" program's website.

Concerned Nelson residents attended the most recent Nelson Marlborough District Health Board meeting to express their concerns over the fluoridation of water in the region.

The Nelson Marlborough Health Board have been asked by members of the public what it will take for them to consider changing their position on water fluoridation.
A group of concerned Nelson residents attended the public forum of the recent NMDHB meeting to express their concerns over the fluoridation of water in the region.
Sara Cooper questioned what alternatives had been considered by the board in addressing the problem of dental cavities.
"With regard to water fluoridation and medicating the human tooth via our water, what choices were put infront of you as solutions? I'm interested to know that as a member of the public," she said.
Cooper used Scotland as an example of a country which had never fluoridated their water supply despite facing a dramatic increase in dental cavities in children.
She said instead of fluoridating the water supply, the Scottish government chose to implement Child Smile, a national programme designed to improve the oral health of children and reduce inequalities in dental health and access to dental services.
"Encourage health, encourage self health promotion and knowledge so that we can look after ourselves," said Cooper.
"You want children to tie their own shoelaces, you don't want to tie their shoelaces forever."

Another manquestioned what it would take for the board to reconsider their position on water fluoridation.
"My question is very simple, what would it take for you to change your mind? What do you need to see? Studies? Reports?"

Board chair Jenny Black thanked those who spoke and said she appreciated that they had come to address the board.
In August, the NMDHB confirmed it's position on water fluoridation by adopting a formal statement.
It endorses community water fluoridation as an important public health measure to maintain good oral health, the prevention of tooth decay and the reduction of health inequalities.
The statement says that community water fluoridation is a safe, effective and affordable population-based strategy for the prevention of dental decay. It supports the Ministry of Health's position, recommending the fluoridation of drinking water supplies to the optimal level of 0.7-1.0 mg/L to provide further protection against dental decay.
At the time, the board said other health boards around the country should make their position on water fluoridation clear to encourage central government to address the issue.
The NMDHB made submissions to the Nelson City Council's Long Term Plan earlier this year urging the council to fluoridate the city's water supply to improve the dental health of children and adults in the region.
At the time, Nelson Mayor Rachel Reese urged government ministers to address the issue on a national basis.
A community meeting on water fluoridation by members of Fluoride Free Nelson is being held on Saturday November 28 at the Stoke Memorial Hall, 548 Main Road, Stoke.

FAN's newsletter

FAN’s Executive Director Debates
Fluoridation on Public Radio
Last week, Michael Connett appeared on
Pennsylvania Public Radio (WPSU) to debate three fluoridation proponents,
including a local dentist, the Director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of
Epidemiology, and a doctor with the State Department of Heath. The 28-minute
discussion took place on the Take Note Show hosted by Patty Satalia, who
asks excellent questions throughout the program and gave Michael enough time to
present his arguments along with the latest research. Best of all, the
combination of Michael’s points and Satalia’s questions clearly showed how
little science the so-called experts are familiar with, and how heavily they
rely on predictable talking points and endorsements by government agencies and
other fluoridation-pushers.

“Health Risks of Water Fluoridation
Raise Concern”
Public Radio International aired a very
good 8-minute piece on fluoridation last week on the Living on Earth
show. Host Steve Curwood interviewed University of Kent professor and
researcher Stephen
Peckham, BSc, MA, HMFPH, Harvard professor and researcher
Philippe
Grandjean, MD, DMSc, and environmental
advocate Laura
Turner Seydel.
Dr. Peckham discusses the
paper he
recently published in the journal Environmental Health
showing an association between fluoridated water in the U.K. and underactive
thyroid, or hypothyroidism. Dr. Grandjean discusses his
research on the impact of fluoride exposure on
IQ. Both scientists raise major concerns over the health risks associated with
water fluoridation.
Please use this interview as a powerful
campaign tool that should be shared with your local and state officials, as well
as with your friends and neighbors.

Tuesday, November 24, 2015

Parents who don't immunise their children will stop receiving childcare benefits next year but one senator believes welfare for all parents should be stripped back.

The federal government's no-jab-no-pay laws will remove childcare benefits, rebates and the Family Tax Benefit A end-of-year supplement from parents who don't immunise their children.

The changes start on January 1, 2016, with exemptions for medical reasons, after legislation passed the Senate on Monday.

Liberal Democrats Senator David Leyonhjelm, speaking in support of the measures, said childless families should not have to subsidise the lifestyles of those who choose to have "little blighters".

In fact, most welfare payments for parents should be abolished, he said.

"The government is not your parent or your spouse - get over it."

Senator Leyonhjelm thanked and apologised to childless Australians.

They get next to no welfare, pay more tax and use less health services but are forced to subsidise the lifestyles of those who get pregnant and take time off work to care for children, as well as all the medical and education costs incurred in the years that follow.

And in the case of those who want to have children but can't, forcing them to subsidise those with children is like making people in "wheelchairs pay for other people's running shoes", he said.

The no-jab-no-pay laws sailed through with the backing of Labor, the Greens and crossbench senators.

Rutland City adds fluorosilicic acid, a neurotoxin, to fluoridate the Rutland water supply.

The CDC agrees the benefit of fluoride is primarily when it is applied to the tooth surface, not swallowed. The cumulative effects of fluorosilicic acid cause fluorosis in 40 percent of our teenagers and shows visible effects on the teeth. The ADA advises parents not to use fluoridated water to make baby formula.

My children were raised on spring water, a healthy diet and received regular dental care. They never had cavities and continue to have healthy teeth as adults.

As a special education teacher in middle school, I witnessed children’s spotted teeth every day. Since fluorosis permanently stains teeth that can only be removed with dental treatments, I am strongly opposed to adding fluorosilicic acid, an industrial waste product from the fertilizer industry, to Rutland’s water supply.

Claiming that fluoridation is beneficial for the teeth of children of lower-income families is deceptive, unethical, unsafe and will be very expensive to treat when it is time for these kids to seek employment.

When the ADA continues to promote an outdated disingenuous practice of dumping fluorosilicic acid in Vermonters drinking water and ignores the findings in the Cochrane Oral Health Group Report, it implies that the dental profession profits from fertilizer waste products.

Mental disorders too high in fluoride-hit Nalgonda
November 23,2015, 01.17 AM IST | | THE HANS INDIA
Nalgonda: After orthopedic disorder cases, mental retardation and mental illness cases are second highest in fluoride-affected mandals of the district. According to official figures, 8,651 mental disorder cases, including 4,761 mentally reradiated and 3,890 mental-illness cases are reported in the district so far. Majority of the cases were reported from fluoride-affected areas in the district.

The figure is second highest after orthopedically handicapped cases, which were 28,348 in the district. The mental disorder cases are more in fluoride-affected areas compared to other mandals as long-time consumption of fluoride water would affect the development of brain in the children.

In an alarming trend, the mental disorder cases are more in the age group of 0-10 years as 3,656 cases including 2,152 boys and 1,504 girls fell in this age group. If we take the mandal-wise figures of mental disorder cases in fluoride-affected areas, 50 mental retardation and 52 mental illness cases reported in Aleru mandal, 45 mental retardation and 35 mental illness in Bhongir municipality, 76 mental retardation and 73 mental illness in Chamdur.

Dr K Praveen Kumar, who did research on “Effect of Fluoride on Developing Brain in Relation to Neuro Degeneration”, for his doctoral study, told The Hans India that the there are chances for low IQ in the children, who consume fluoride water long time from the childhood, and mental disorders also. Consuming fluoride water in childhood would show impact on cerebral plasma of the brain. It was scientifically proved, he added.

Having six fillings is nothing to be proud of, especially in an age where dental care is so advanced that experts say we should be able to keep perfect teeth for life. So spare a thought for Matilda Fraser, who has already notched up this number of fillings by the age of nine.

And according to Matilda’s mother, Victoria, the reason for her tooth decay is not a diet of cakes, biscuits, chocolate and fizzy drinks, but ‘five-a-day’ snacks such as dried fruit and smoothies.

Victoria, a 43-year-old project manager from Bristol, is understandably sheepish about the situation. She knows that she and her advertising executive husband Patrick ‘should have known better than to let things get so bad’.

Then, two years ago, Matilda needed a filling. ‘I burst into tears. I felt so guilty,’ Victoria says.

Matilda went on to have another filling at each of her next three six-monthly check-ups, and Harry soon joined her under the drill. Now aged 11, he has four fillings – two in his adult teeth.

The Fraser children are far from alone. According to the British Dental Association, dental decay is the number one reason children aged five to nine are admitted to hospital in England, with the NHS spending £30 million on hospital-based tooth extractions in 2012.

Shocking new research from dentistry chain Oasis Dental Care, published earlier this month, shows that a third of children have fillings by the time they are five, a quarter need at least one crown, and a third need gum-disease treatment.

There are two ways in which high-sugar foods damage teeth. First is acid erosion, when teeth are exposed to acidic foods such as fruit (including dried) and juice. If the exposure to acid is too frequent, caused by snacking, the enamel begins to soften. If teeth are brushed within 30 minutes of acid exposure, the softened enamel can be scrubbed off.

The second major threat is sugar. ‘Bacteria that live in the mouth feed off sugars and excrete an acid that attacks enamel in a similar way to acid erosion,’ Coyle says. Even if it’s only the milk teeth that are affected, it can still lead to long-term problems, as removal risks adult teeth growing into unnatural positions.

Victoria has now banned fruit juice, dried fruit and smoothies, and while the Frasers still let their children eat fruit, they only do so at mealtimes – never as a snack.

‘We’ve also bought them electric toothbrushes with a two-minute timer and they never brush their teeth straight after meals when the enamel has been softened,’ she adds.

Matilda had her last filling just over nine months ago, and her latest check-up did not show the need for any more dental work........................

Water fluoridation to prevent tooth decay

Tooth decay is a worldwide problem affecting most adults and children. Untreated decay may cause pain and lead to teeth having to be removed. In many parts of the world, tooth decay is decreasing. Children from poorer backgrounds still tend to have greater levels of decay. Fluoride is a mineral that prevents tooth decay. It occurs naturally in water at varying levels. Fluoride can also be added to the water with the aim of preventing tooth decay. Fluoride is present in most toothpastes and available in mouthrinses, varnishes and gels. If young children swallow too much fluoride while their permanent teeth are forming, there is a risk of marks developing on those teeth. This is called ‘dental fluorosis’. Most fluorosis is very mild, with faint white lines or streaks visible only to dentists under good lighting in the clinic. More noticeable fluorosis, which is less common, may cause people concern about how their teeth look.

Authors' conclusions:

There is very little contemporary evidence, meeting the review's inclusion criteria, that has evaluated the effectiveness of water fluoridation for the prevention of caries.

The available data come predominantly from studies conducted prior to 1975, and indicate that water fluoridation is effective at reducing caries levels in both deciduous and permanent dentition in children. Our confidence in the size of the effect estimates is limited by the observational nature of the study designs, the high risk of bias within the studies and, importantly, the applicability of the evidence to current lifestyles. The decision to implement a water fluoridation programme relies upon an understanding of the population's oral health behaviour (e.g. use of fluoride toothpaste), the availability and uptake of other caries prevention strategies, their diet and consumption of tap water and the movement/migration of the population. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether water fluoridation results in a change in disparities in caries levels across SES. We did not identify any evidence, meeting the review's inclusion criteria, to determine the effectiveness of water fluoridation for preventing caries in adults.

There is insufficient information to determine the effect on caries levels of stopping water fluoridation programmes.

There is a significant association between dental fluorosis (of aesthetic concern or all levels of dental fluorosis) and fluoride level. The evidence is limited due to high risk of bias within the studies and substantial between-study variation.

WESTERN GROVE — Members of the Ozark Mountain Regional Public Water Authority (OMRPWA) board limbered up their legs on Thursday, Nov. 19, in preparation for kicking the can down the road.

Meeting at Western Grove City Hall, the board voted to have chairman Andy Anderson and board member Winton McInnis, a non-practicing attorney, meet with the board’s attorney to see what would be needed to bring a lawsuit against the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) and also the cost of probability of success of such a move.

The action was taken in response to a state law that mandates fluoridation by any water system that serves more than 5,000 customers.

The OMRPWA supplies water, originating from Bull Shoals Lake, to 18 systems, which in turn services 20,000 people in four counties.

Most officials of the water system have expressed their opposition to the 2011 law mandating fluoridation. The ADH has given the water authority until the end of the year to give its response. Anderson had expected the vote to be taken at the Nov. 19 meeting. However, a special meeting was called for Dec. 17, at which time Anderson and McInnis will report their findings, and a vote is expected then.

Why Are So Many Healthy People Dying from the Flu After Receiving the Flu Shot?
Another flu death of an otherwise healthy person after receiving the flu vaccine has been reported in Wisconsin. WISN in Wisconsin is reporting that 26-year-old Katherine McQuestion has died from flu complications, after she received the flu shot. Katherine was reportedly a newlywed, and was required to receive the flu shot as part of her employment. She was a radiology technician and worked at St. Catherine’s Medical Center in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin according to WISN.

Public health officials consider the question of water fluoridation's safety closed. Meanwhile, opponents say fluoride is a highly toxic substance that can cause a range of adverse health effects and want the practice halted.

70 years on and the practice of water fluoridation is still hotly debated.

If you’re like most people, you’ve given only limited thought to the fluoride in your tap water. That is, unless you live in Bellefonte, where the issue is now being hotly debated. The Bellefonte Water Authority has voted to end the practice; some area dentists and residents want the authority to reconsider and continue to add fluoride to the water system. Why is this long-standing practice still so controversial? What are the benefits—and risks—of fluoridating drinking water? WPSU's Patty Satalia talks about that with Dr. Richard Miller, a general dentist with Bellefonte Family Dentistry in Bellefonte, Michael Connett, Executive Director of the Fluoride Action Network, an international coalition aimed at ending water fluoridation, and Dr. Sharon Watkins, director of the Bureau of Epidemiology, and Dr. Farhad Ahmed, both with the PA Dept. of Heath.